Eric Patrick
A video of newborn babies crying in darkness for three-days in Minna General Hospital, Niger State capital has since gone viral on Friday, leaving families In pains as some babies were reported death.
Power outage and the continues killings of babies in this hospital has raised serious concerns about the state of public healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
In the video gathered by Thewatch Africa, some newborn babies could be heard crying in darkness due to a power outage at the hospital.
According to our correspondent, the problem began when the prepaid meter ran out of credit, causing the hospital to be without electricity for three days.
A source who pleaded to remain anonymous because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media told Thewatch Africa that the hospital had lost about six children the last time the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) went on strike as a result of power failure.
Another source said, “There is a scenario of a lady who was supposed to undergo cesarean surgery on Saturday to remove her twins that are blocking each other, but before she could be moved into the theatre, power company seized light and they had to wait for the light to be restored.
“The light was restored on Sunday before the surgery was done, and she lost the two babies while she also battled with her life before she got better.”
Another source who claimed she was a patient at the hospital narrated the pain she underwent after losing a daughter, “This post brought back memories of how my beloved 9-month-old daughter lost her life in this same Minna General Hospital while on oxygen due to power outage.
“The image of how she struggled to breathe cos the oxygen went off and the sound of other babies breathing in that ward that night still remains fresh in my mind.
“It’s 6 years now, and nothing has changed in this same hospital. May Allah bring a permanent solution to this menace," she said.
Concerns over the continued power failures have also led to increased reliance on volunteers who donate diesel to power hospital generators. However, the long-term sustainability of this support remains uncertain.
In 2022 a similar incident occurred where a Facebook user posted “At 7:45pm, we entered the General Hospital, Minna, the family of the patients now going to fetch water and fuel while those that cannot bear it, move their patients to private hospitals.”
All efforts to reach the Niger State Commissioner of Information, Binta Manman, and the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, has prove abortive.
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